Practice
In or into: choosing a movement preposition
Your coat is in the closet after you hang it up. When you carry it through the closet door, it moves into the closet. The place can be the same, but the action changes the preposition.
Choose in for a position and into for movement from outside to inside.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
in and into /ɪn/ and /ˈɪntu/
The short answer
Choose in for a location or condition. Choose into when someone or something moves from outside to inside.
The keys are in the drawer, but Lena put the receipt into her bag.
Why it works: The keys already have a location. The receipt moves and ends inside the bag.
5 more examples
-
The visitors waited in the lobby.
The sentence gives the visitors' location.
Not this:The visitors walked
into the lobbyafter the doors opened. What changes: The visitors move from outside the lobby to inside it. -
There is a coin in my pocket.
The coin already has a position inside the pocket.
Not this:I slipped a coin
into my pocketbefore leaving. What changes: The coin moves to the inside of the pocket. -
The soup is in a large pot.
The soup is already inside the pot.
Not this:Pour the soup
into a large pot. What changes: The instruction describes moving the soup inside the pot. -
We stayed in the car during the storm.
The sentence describes where the group stayed.
Not this:We got
into the carwhen the storm began. What changes: The group moves from outside the car to inside it. -
The caterpillar is in a glass jar.
The caterpillar has a location inside the jar.
Not this:The caterpillar
changed into a butterflyin the spring. What changes: Into describes a change from one form to another.
Read the full guide
Look for movement across a boundary. If there is no movement, in is usually the right choice. If the sentence tells you that something enters an inside space, use into.
Use in for a position
Use in when the sentence tells you where someone or something is. The place may be a room, a container, a country, a group, or an activity. The sentence does not need to show how the person or thing arrived there.
Maya is in the kitchen.
Maya already has a location, so in is the natural choice.
Choose the word: The towels are ___ the cabinet.
Use in. The towels already have a position inside the cabinet.
Use into for movement inside
Use into when an action takes a person or thing from outside to inside. The movement may be quick or slow. What matters is the change from one side of a boundary to the other.
The child ran into the playground.
The child moves from outside the playground to inside it.
Choose the word: Please put these papers ___ the folder.
Use into. The papers move and end inside the folder.
Compare the same place
The same destination can use either preposition. Use in after the movement is complete. Use into while you describe the movement itself. This contrast shows that the preposition depends on the action and the final destination.
The puppy is in the crate. The puppy climbed into the crate.
The first sentence gives the puppy's position. The second tells how the puppy reached that position.
Which sentence describes movement: The flowers are in the vase, or I put the flowers into the vase?
I put the flowers into the vase describes movement because the flowers change position.
Use into for a change
Into can also describe a change from one thing, material, or condition to another. There is no physical container in this use. The word still points to a new result.
The company turned an empty room into a meeting space.
The room changes from an empty room to a meeting space.
Choose the word: The water froze ___ ice overnight.
Use into. The water changes to a new form.
Notice common fixed phrases
Some phrases are common combinations that learners can remember as a unit. We usually say get into a car or taxi, but get on a bus, train, or plane. In a sentence such as log in to an account, in is part of the verb log in, so it is different from the preposition into.
Nora logged in to her account before the meeting.
Here, in completes the verb logged in. It does not mean movement inside an account.
Which phrase is usual for a taxi: get in or get into?
Both can be used, but get into a taxi is useful when you want to stress the movement.
Before you go
Remember this
Use in for a position, location, or state. Use into for movement to the inside or for a change to a new form. Ask whether the sentence describes where something is or how it gets there.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "In or into: choosing a movement preposition"
What is the main difference between in and into?
In usually describes a position, location, or state. Into describes movement from outside to inside. Compare a book that is in a bag with a person putting a book into a bag. The location is the same, but the second sentence includes movement.
The visitors waited in the lobby.
Can the same place use in and into?
Yes. The choice depends on the action in the sentence. Say that guests are in the lobby when you give their location. Say that guests walked into the lobby when you describe their movement through the entrance.
The visitors walked into the lobby after the doors opened.
When does into describe a change?
Into can describe a change from one form, state, or purpose to another. For example, a workshop may turn old fabric into bags. This use does not describe movement into a container. It describes the result of a change.
There is a coin in my pocket.
Is into one word or two words?
Write into as one word when it is the preposition that describes movement inside or a change of form. Write in to as two words when in completes a verb, such as sign in, and to begins the next part of the sentence.
I slipped a coin into my pocket before leaving.
Do we say get in or get into a car?
Both phrases are common. Get into a car puts attention on the movement from outside to inside. Get in a car is often shorter in conversation. With buses, trains, and planes, English usually uses get on instead.
The soup is in a large pot.